Over the last couple years, the Bruins have shed the likes of Aaron Ward and Stephane Yelle from their roster, which not only reduced the team’s average age but also its total of Stanley Cup ring owners in its locker room.

The Bruins are smack dab in the middle of the Eastern Conference rankings with three — two by Mark Recchi and one by Shawn Thornton.Pittsburgh (18) and New Jersey (11) are atop the East leader board. Eastern Conference favorite Washington has just one Cup-ring wearer.

Oddly, the Bruins’ combined amount of Cup Final experience has also been reduced in recent years. Only Andrew Ference, in addition to Thornton and Recchi, has been one step from the Cup championship with the reduction of the likes of Steve Montador and Chuck Kobasew from the team over the years.

Obviously, this says nothing about Boston’s potential to win the Cup this year. Last year’s Chicago Blackhawks had just three rings — John Madden (2) and Andrew Ladd. If experience turns out to be a missing ingredient when the trade deadline arrives, undoubtedly general manager Peter Chiarelli will do something to rectify that. It’s just an interesting quirk and maybe a sign of a slight change in philosophy in terms of the value of past championship experience vs. athleticism and youth.

Funny, while enjoying an IPA at Rockbottom the other night prior to attending concert, my girlfriend asked me, “How many current players on the Bruins have won cups?” To which I replied Rex & Thorts, and added that Ference had been in a final…Kalman, you weren’t that guy at the table next to us, were you? If so, my girlfriend wants partial author credit for this post =D